Mobile Backhaul

Driven by competitive pressures and market evolution to 3G and 4G, cellular service providers are seeking alternatives for economical and future‐proof access network technologies. Much of the demand is driven by the need to provide higher bandwidth transport for mobile Internet connectivity.

A fundamental challenge facing both cellular and access network providers is predicting how and when the cellular market will evolve. Evolutionary requirements include:

Increase in backhaul bandwidth: Data traffic in mobile networks is increasing dramatically as 3G rolls out and new subscriber services emerge. Some access network providers are splitting their IP and voice backhaul services into a hybrid of TDM and IP. Longer term it is expected that bandwidth and economics will drive these networks to converge to IP only;
Synchronization clocks: Base stations must have closely-correlated carrier frequencies (and for TDD, phase) to support cell-to-cell handoff and for overall service quality. This requirement is currently satisfied via synchronization with TDM circuit clocks or local GPS receivers, which have high OpEx/CapEx and do not satisfy all cellular needs.

The table below provides a summary of some of the cellular service requirements and considerations:

Cellular Requirements

Teknovus' EPON chips enable access network providers to distribute clock (frequency), phase, and ToD to ONUs at base stations from the OLT, supporting all 3G and 4G cellular service model requirements:

Backhaul

Another important consideration is the need to support multiple services in access networks. In order to provide an economical service model, access networks must support multiple services. But the mission-critical nature of backhaul increases the importance of assurance that all services will be transported independent of mutual interference regardless of traffic burstiness or network congestion. The drawing below illustrates how Teknovus' EPON architecture uses multiple LLIDs/ONU to enable service transport with guaranteed Service Level Agreement (SLA) support:

Deployed networks using equipment based on Teknovus OLT and ONU chips have proven ability to carry backhaul for 2G, 3G, and 4G base stations while simultaneously supporting IPTV and other subscriber services.

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